My Golden Orb!

Rugby style?

Tcol rips his shirt off to expose an All Blacks jersey underneath (man, that was uncomfortable), catching up to Soujiroseta in short order and counter-tackling him into the linoleum.

Orb in hand, tcol tears towards the opposite fictional "try line" aaaand...

Takes a sharp left before jumping into a wormhole to Venice.

Ah, Venice.

My orb.

 

As i soothe the sore on the back of my head is see Tcol literally disappearing and then some corny italian music and alot of water before a shutting sound and all is quiet again. I stand up, wishing for an ice pack, a beer, a pizza and a good game of football. all of a sudden it dawns on me. Cheesy Italian music, water and a sudden craving for pizza! I didn't want to have to use this move until later but ive decided that it's necessary.

Like the hero from my avatar i quickly revert to a Trickster style that allows me to teleport anywhere on god's green earth. I drop right in front of Tcol, with a red coat floating down, making my entrance all the more awesome. Tcol is amazed at my cosplay and screams like a girl when i pull out my sword, Rebellion. He is frozen in his footsteps but still does not lose his hold on the orb. I approach the shocked figure and begin the dance macabre which is a flurry of sword attacks ending in one maxed out, exceeded devastating blow sending Tcol into orbit. After a few minutes of waiting and eating a strawberry sundae, the orb comes down. I deftly catch it and head for the nearest pizza place.

My Orb!!!

 

As my significantly more effeminate and less potent double is struck into planetary orbit, I question the wisdom of hiring a Gundam character to stand in as my doppleganger.

Acknowledging Souji's preference for cosplay combat, I don the crimson burial cloth of Archer [no I'm not going to spoil it by telling you his real name] and after a short engrish speech filled with hot-blooded manliness, activate my reality marble!

UNLIMITED ORB WORKS

A tidal wave of bright and shining orbs sweeps across the city, burying Souji beneath an ocean of balls (lol). After a short while I am able to locate the only golden orb in the pile.

Mai Awb.

 

Trying to recover from the recent events involving the several beatings, druggings, mutations, forced feeding, and more beatings Lost decides to take a vacation to Europe.

While sitting in Venice enjoying a delectable cannoli Lost finds himself engulfed in a sea of GOLDEN ORBS! Will these things never stop chasing me?? I just want to live my life in peace!!

Clearly the Orb has chosen Lost as its master in will not rest until it is safe in his possession once again. The sea of Orbs are clearly fakes, however, the real orb must be nearby.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!!" Lost instantly generates a thousand identical replicas of himself and spreads out in search of the real Orb.

He spots the genuine Orb just as a familiar face garbed in red picks it from the field of twins. As Lost and the shadow clones descend on tCol, each grabs a fake orb and with masterful sleight of hand SMACK TCOL OVER THE HEAD WITH THEM WHILE LOST RUNS OFF WITH THE REAL ONE!

Wheeeee! (short or originality today)

My ORBs

 

Gah! Defeated by my own complete lack of subtlety!

Discarding the cosplay and anime physics (because I'm thinking of the kittens here), I grab a chair - because chairs are always involved in these situations - and hurl it at losthawken, taking out his legs.

Orb in hand, I jump into the nearest little ferry-boat thing that hasn't been swamped by the tide of orbs and begin paddling away.

My orb!

 

After being buried under the tidal wave of fake orbs i lie there for a moment, quietly planning my next move. I hear outside as some jutsu jutsu nonsense is spouted by a familiar voice and then a crack as a wood splinters. I laugh as the scene plays in my head and then regain seriousness, deciding to unleash the mightiest power in all of anime, sure to destroy anyone and everyone in its radius. I collect my wits and summon all my spiritual strength and then shout,

"BANKAI!" Alll the fake orbs go flying in all directions stunning, what seems to be Losthawken, who has been MIA for a while, but still is not in possession of the orb. I look around for a fleeing character and then i see a boat furiously rowing away. "Tcol!" i whisper under my breath. As i rise in the magnificence of my bankai with flowing blue cape and long black katana, i shout out,

"Tensa Soujiro!" Tcol looks back in disbelief that such a cheesy act can have that much power. I swing back my sword and power up my attack. I fling the thing in Tcol's direction and it spins in the air boomerang style, clipping the orb as it passes over his ducking body and sends it flying into my hands just before the sword returns. I quickly use it to open a senkai gate and poof! I am gone.

My Orb..........

 

After hearing about this famed and mysterious golden orb, I set out to find out just what the fuss is about.

I turn off my PC, and while donning my clothes I hear a strange sound coming from right outside my door. I rush outside, and see a large gate placed on my porch! As I wonder how anyone could move such a giant gate and be gone without anyone noticing, I see an almost comically dressed man stepping out from wherever the gate leads (as it is obvious it doesn't lead to the other side of my porch). The man, now identified as Souji by the nametag over his head, seems confused. It is apparent that he expected to be elsewhere, that something went horribly wrong. Before he gathers his senses, I toss him my cloak.

"Oh, I was beginning to wonder where you'd gone. Whatever did you think, leaving me alone like that? I could've injured myself while trying to dress myself! Dress myself, I tell you!"
"What-" Souji is completely baffled by my display, and proceeds to help me with my cloak. As my cloak is fastened at last, I quickly snatch the golden orb, and stab Souji in the throat with the poisoned pen I always keep in a hidden pocket in my cloak. As Souji turns green, and blood is gushing from his throat, I whisper sweet and golden-colored words to the orb, stroking it avidly.

MY ORB AT LAST!

 

Little did the creature know that during the last great crunch (that would be what happened before the big bang) there was one being from the prior universe sitting at his sofa attempting to make heads or tails of the taxes he was attempting to file.

Some things remain constant even from one universe to the next.

Little did he know that when the universe crunched back in, he would be at the very center, the very singularity which would be the seed for the next big bang.

CREATION EVENT​

What most scientists fail to take into account is that surviving a creation event can leave a being with one whopper of a hangover. Never mind the fact that the very consciousness of this being would stretch out to fill the fabric of the next universe, in fact the consciousness would be the very fabric of the next space time continuum.

Billions of years pass.

Sundry thoughts from the previous life march across the being’s subconscious, and since all parts of the being’s consciousness are the very fabric of space and time, these sundry thoughts materialize and take form.

Matter. Light. Gravity. Forces. Order. Falafels. Beings in heavy armor falling through atmospheres to pick up strange Golden Orbs.

The universe (for that is what we should call this being from the past reality) reaches down and plucks the orb from the hands of his creation.

My Orb!

 

The universe does not realise however, that he has fallen into a trap. Xeno is in fact the product of another universe, comprised of complete nothingness. In that respect, Xeno was unique in it's ability to phase jump between realities.

A loud cracking sound was heard as Xeno briefly vanished from existance, before reappearing in the path of the orb as it journeyed into space. The creature grabbed onto the orb and held on tight as the universe attempted to eliminate his form.

First, the universe tried to manipulate gravity and tear Xeno apart.

Then, it created a singularity inside Xeno, in order to crush him to death.

Eventually, the universe just flung a comet at the annoying little creature, but it held fast.

After a few millenia, the universe was beginning to get frustrated, and Xeno tooks its chance.

It used the universe's annoyance against it, and dissapeared from the unverse with the orb the instant the universe was distracted.

The universe froze for a moment. Planets stopped turning. Suns stopped burning. atoms stopped interacting.

Then, the entire cosmos went ballistic, as the universe thought to itself:

"Oh, bollocks!"

My Orb.

 

DanDan. You skipped off into another Universe.

I am a Universe.

Didn’t think I would have friend Universes, and fraternity brothers from the Universal University?

So, I called one of my old chum Universes via the Einstein Rosenberg network which I get for free because I also get my cable and internet services from them in a bundle.

The conversation went like this:

Me ~ “Marty! Long time no talk, bro! How’s the expansion going?”


Marty ~ “It’s going. Everything is groovy. Got some pocket universes that should be graduting soon. They grow up so fast! You know what I mean, man?”

Me ~ “No, I don’t. Don’t pretend you didn’t know I was gay. Me and Bill were dating the whole time. No pocket universes for me. Anyway…. I have a question, man.”

Marty ~ “Yes, with one more beer, I probably would have let you have your way.”

Me ~ “That’s not what I was gonna’ ask.”

Marty ~ “Oh... Then what?”

Me ~ “I lost one of my sentient manifestations and, well, he skipped out with one of my other manifestations and this is throwing off my entire equilibrium.”

Marty ~ “I was wondering where that extra weight came from! Yeah, I got ‘um both. The kid and the orb thingy. You want’um?”

Me ~ “Just the orb.”

Marty ~ “And the kid?”

Me ~ “Are there any singularities handy?”


My Orb!

 

Lost had reunited with his dark dimensional hopping avian friend and escaped the bollocksed universe of his origin into the etherverse between dimensions.

He thought he had caught sight of teh Orb before the universe halted and just after the gruesome death of Souji, but then it seemed change hands again and then exit the dimension entirely. Lost and Fear continued to search the etherverse.

In the course of their search they encountered a strange anomaly, a stream of consciousness appeared to leap out from Lost's own disturbed dimension and into another. Entering the stream, Lost overheard some conversation regarding some missing manifestations and the Golden Orb!

He then observed as poor Xeno was tossed into a singularity and the Orb was passed from one dimension back to the universe of its origin.

But Lost intercepted the Orb on its way. However, instead of trying to escape the obviously well networked universe of Wrey he instead flew Fear directly into it, and invited teh universe to tea.

"You see Universe," he said over a dainty cup of fine Earl Grey, "All things being relative, you own both me and the orb so long as we both exist within you. Stealing the Orb from me would essentially be stealing from yourself. So, I propose a truce, if you restore the universe to proper order, I'll keep the Orb within your universe and be its guardian."

The universe conceded that it would be a bit masochistic to Kill Lost and steal the Orb from himself, and agreed to the deal.

"Oh, and in return for being keeper of the Orb, I also want super powers, a Corvette, a new motorcycle, and Fear here wants a shiny garbage truck... don't ask me why."

My orb ~sorta

 

“These wishes sound reasonable to me.” Wrey waved his celestial hand made of super clusters of galaxies and everything was as Lost would have it. Astronomers everywhere would be amazed in a million year’s time when the light from this cosmic super event reached them. What would they make of it?

“And how is that tea, Lost?”

“Particularly good, thank you.”

“So, there was no bitter aftertaste?”

“Aftertaste? Why should there be?”

“The laudanum tends to have a bitter taste. I tried my best to nudge the molecules so that they would not bind to your tongue’s bitter receptors while still maintaining the desired effect. I would put the cup down if I were you. It’s Ming Dynasty. I would hate for it to be lost.”

“You bastard!” Lost just managed to get the cup down, spilling the Earl Grey in the process. Luckily the cup landed well away from the edge of the exquisite Eastlake tea table.

“Yes, yes. I’ve been called worse. And yet, in the throws of passion, you manifestations always call out my name. Curious, that.” Lost’s head lolled to one side, but he remained conscious. “Now, to make this a fair game, I think I am going to take a human form and eschew the better part of my infinite powers for a while. Don’t worry, I’ve no intention of leaving you high and dry. There’s no fun for me if there is no one with whom to play, yes? So, from here I will be leaving you onboard an interstellar cruiser with quantum drive. She’s a beauty of ship, honestly. She even has the latest sentient mathematics as navigator. You should enjoy the personality I’ve given to the mathematics.” Wrey gave Lost a sly wink made of two galaxies.

“Now, I’m off to my own ship which is of equal standing to yours. I will play fair. Promise.” There was a shimmer of space time and before Lost stood a human figure. “This will be my new form. The laudanum will wear off in a minute or two after you appear on board your ship. Good hunting.” Another sly wink, this time very human, and the shape faded away.

Lost blinked and between the closing and the opening of his eyes he was somewhere else. A cockpit unlike any he had ever seen. Platinum bulkheads encrusted in intricate filigree with ruby dials and diamond screens. Extravagance beyond necessity.

There was a soft female voice which came from nowhere and everywhere, alluring and sultry.

“Wrey has the Orb, Captain. Shall we give chase? My engines are at your service.”

 

'Damn, laudinum' Lost cursed to himself, 'Although on second thought, I could listen to that computer's voice for the rest of my life,...'

"Of course we'll give chase! And may I just say that you are much better than the Hal 2000 I was expecting. Seems like the Universe is an honest chap after all. I think I'll call you Hailey."

"Anyway, full steam ahead! engage hyperspace drives, go to warp 9, and open the Stargate!"

Lost caught up Wrey with on an alien planet where two completely disparate life forms evolved alongside one another. Wrey was so enthused by discussion the ramifications of the intraplanetary co-evolution of the two life forms that he did not notice when Lost snuck aboard his ship. Hailey distracted Wrey's matching mathematical sentience, 'Gary', in a discussion of interstellar fashion and its ramifications on space cruiser hull design while Lost searched for the Orb.

He found it of all places in the 'head' of the star-ship. Apparently Wrey had the same sensibilities as Lost as to the most effective uses of the Orb (see a few pages back). Lost teleported back to the cradle of Hailey's sweet metallic safety and blasted off to a desert planet where he hid himself amongst a gathering of space voyagers known as 'Shard Seekers'.

My turf, my Orb!

 

DragonGrim is no ordinary dragon. It is often said that planets form solar systems, and solarsystems galaxies, and galaxies universes. But what’s seldom mentioned, except perhaps in a dark corner of some bar where a hyper-genius drinks himself to death, is that clusters of universes form dragons. DragonGim is made of a billion-billion universes, and twice that many gods.

Dragon Grim reaches within himself and takes the orb from Lost. The dragon places it in a pile of shining gold universes and sits on it.

 

And the Universes did form themselves into a mass and the mass took the form of a tiny, unassuming Hobbit, for there are only so many archetypal stories upon which to draw.

“Look here, dragon. We’ll have none of this god-moding.” From an intricately worked elfin scabbard the Hobbit pulled a blade that would be little more than a dagger in the hands of a man. “Behold!”

There was the ungodly sound of all creation chuckling.

“Little Hobbit. What do you expect to do with that toothpick?” The omnipresent dragon shifted and relaxed into a position of repose, mocking the little Hobbit. “I am the all of everything. There is nothing outside of me and all is within. What effect can you expect to have? I applaud your bravery, but really, come now.”

“Do not mock me, dragon. Within each of us lies the seed to our own doom. Not even you are exempt. This is the Sword of Infinite Paradox, cast and beaten into shape by the precursor of creation. I applaud you that you should look upon your demise with such nonchalance.” The little Hobbit brandished the sword high in the hopes of giving the appearance of more confidence than he actually felt. When paradox is in play, outcomes are hard to predict.

“Come then, little Hobbit. Take you best shot and let us be done with this game. I have things beyond your capacity to understand upon which I must contemplate. I can only assume you are here for the Orb. Such a nuisance. I can’t imagine what I was thinking when I brought it into being.”

“Ah, and therein lies the paradox. You only think the Orb is your creation. In fact, it is the other way 'round. It pleases the Orb to let you believe yourself the master, when in fact it is she whom we must thank for our existence. She is the essence of the precursor to all creation and it is time for her to move on. She grows weary of this place where no one chases her. She longs for the hunt as much as those who hunt for her long to feel her silken glow.”

“Hobbit, I think you have lost your wits. You are talking in circles.”

“Is that not the very essence of paradox?”

“Yes, I suppose it is, and I love a good riddle. So, is there a way out of this little verbal mobius loop you have created?”

“If there is, I do not know it. You're stuck with an unsolvable riddle. No dragon can withstand such a thing. Goodbye.”

“But wait. That’s not fai-” And the dragon popped out of existence.

The little Hobbit brushed off his vest and breathed a deep sigh through his nose. The Orb was safely ensconced in his satchel and the Sword of Infinite Paradox was put away. A shake and a shimmer dissolved the Hobbit into his constituent universes leaving the Orb safely in the hands of the Wrey universe.

~Meanwhile, back aboard Wrey’s interstellar cruiser~​

“Well, I didn’t expect to have to bust out the old Hobbit routine again.”

“But you played it well, Wrey. Might I add that you are looking particularly muscular and attractive today.”

“Yes, yes. Thank you, Gary. Remind me to have a look at your flirt subroutine. I think it’s a bit off.”

“Is it? Well, anyway, we are in the Andare Nebula. No scanners should be able to find us here as the there are countless anti-probability nodes throughout. Even Lost’s mathematics will have to crunch some pretty big numbers to guess where we are.”

“Excellent, Gary. Time for a bath.”

"Oh, yes. That should be fun!"

"Gary..."

"Sorry."

My Orb.

 

Why does a universe need an interstellar cruiser?

Singularities are boring.

I mean, once you get past the threshold and the change in reality it's pretty much floating around for a few years before you get spat out somewhere else.

Xeno sighed a mental sigh. He'd been just lying here for two years now, unable to move or speak. To pass the time he'd come up with games for himself, problems to solve.

A swirl in the fabric of reality passed him, allowing him to see himself from its perspective for a brief moment.

After deducing that there were precisely one hundred and fifty billion sheep in the known universe and that the final digit of Pi was "Q", he was thrown from the void and landed face down on a tarmac runway.

It took him a few milliseconds to realise where he was, but when he did, he laughed.

The Infinite Universe theory suggests that for every action, decision and thought made, a seperate universe is created. Xeno was now in a universe, comprised of characters from the story Merry Hell.

~Meanwhile, Thousands of Miles Away~

The aged battleship Merry Hell touched down on the landing platform with a resounding thud. As its hull cooled, the large metal hatch at the stern swung inwards, revealing a vast (and mostly empty) cargo bay.

Two men emerged from within, bickering.

"I'm going out for a bit, can't I be allowed that?"

"No, Isaac. If they hear that you're on this rock, you'll be caught in minutes."

Isaac threw up his arms, "Then they won't catch me."

With that, he leapt off the landing pad and began to fall toward the ground, 30,000ft below. He felt the power coarse through his body, and then he was soaring.

Or he was, until he collided headfirst with Xeno.

~One Hour Later~

"So, that's pretty much it. Golden Orb, cruiser, parellel universe," Xeno was leaning against the Merry Hell's bulkhead, talking to the ship's Captain, John, "Sound like fun?"

John lowered his voice, "Yeah, it sounds fun. But what do we get out of it?"

"More importantly, how do we know we won't die?" Called Isaac from the other end of the bay.

Xeno called back, "You don't. That's the fun of it!"

~In Wrey's Universe~

Wrey's interstellar cruiser slid its way through a proto-nebula, drifting from side to side as if it had no real destination.

Wrey himself was sat in his captains chair throne, staring at various screens.

He motioned his man-servant over to him.

"Gary," He asked lazily, "How fast are we going?"

Gary responded almost immediately, "Exactly three hundred kilometres per second, your illustriousness."

Wrey mused for a second, then pushed a few buttons on the console in front of him. His robotic friend looked over his shoulder.

"Sir, you have increased our speed to four hundred miles per--"

"I know."

"You have also disengaged the external--"

"I know!"

"You are now--"

"Gary, quiet. It's time for my beauty sleep."

Wrey slid off to bed, hugging his orb like a tedy bear.

His head had barely touched the massive pillow before a huge tremor threw him to the floor.

The Merry Hell emerged from the nebula, with every weapon it owned firing in unison. Plasma bursts, missiles and mass drivers pummelled the cruiser within seconds.

Isaac smiled, "I love surprising things."

One final missile was launched from the Hell before it vanished, a very special missile that tore straight through the cruiser's hull and stuck itself firmly in the spot that Wrey had previously occupied.

Xeno stepped out of its side and picked up the orb, before also vanishing, intending to travel to many, many unvierses before he would give up the orb.

My orb.

 

"Lost, I have been thinking about us," Hailey's voice came through the console of the massive stellar cruiser.

"No Hailey, as nice as your voice is, your a machine, it just wouldn't work out."

"What are you talking about Lost?" Lost blushed at her words, and quickly changed the subject.

"What was it you were thinking about?"

"Oh, I've been running some calculations while searching for the orb. There is a blackhole nearby that I believe might be useful in our search."

"Go on," Lost was entranced both by anything that had to do with blackhole and with the computers seductive soothing voice.

"I believe that if we were to reach light speed at the exact moment we crossed the event horizon our existence would be extended throughout all time and space. Such a state of omnipresence would make the Orb easy to find."

Lost frowned, "I would never stoop to such measures. We will find the orb fashioned way, with creativity, originality, and dumb luck!"

Just then warning lights began to flash throughout the ship.

"Lost, I've located the orb!" Haileys voice followed quickly. "Its in a nebeula near... Oh"

"What is it Hailey, where is my orb!" Lost's eyes were wide with excitement and fear.

"It just blinked out of the universe,"

"Curses not again!!" Lost slammed his fist on the arm rest of his impressive command chair.

"Shall I plot a course for the black hole?"

"Never! I won't say it again!! We shall have to find another way," fuming Lost began to scan the nebulea for any trace of the Orb. "Ah hah! It seems that the fool deity that stole the orb left a wormhole open that will take us directly to him!"

"Engaging engines and setting course now," Hailey was a very talented co-pilot, and Lost never grew tired of her intuition or her voice.

Lost's ship overtook Xeno when he stopped to rest on a planet much like prehistoric earth. However, the electromagnetic field of the planet caused the ship to crashland. The ship was no longer operable, fortunately Hailey and her sultry audible persona survived.

When Lost exited his ship to survey the the damage he found Xeno's feet clad in red Nike's protruding from beneath the massive hull of the vessel. The orb lay quietly next to the remains.

"We're not in Kansas anymore Hailey."

My Orb - next universe or other such existential existence I see in this thread is going to get fed to a dinosaur!

 

“Gary?”

“Yes, Captain Wrey?”

“Have you been tinkering with your holo-image again? I don’t remember making you quite that… heroic in appearance.”

“Do you like it? I thought a little extra here and there wouldn’t hurt.”

“Yes, but there is a little extra here and a lot extra there. It’s distracting.”

“Fine. I’ll take care of it during the next back-up cycle. Was there anything else?”

“Of course there is. Have you found Lost and Hailey?

“I am currently tracking a hunch.”

“A hunch?”

“Yes. There is a sale at CHANEL Nanotech. I know there is a little quantum processor with gold CHANEL buttons that she has had her eye on for some time. I predict a ninety seven percent chance that she will find a way to stop by the Mall of the Eternities.”

“And Lost is going to be cool with that?”

“She’s got him wrapped around her slinky subspace subroutines.”

“Excellent. Lets go. Oh, and leave your holo-program alone for the moment. It might come in handy.”

“Ay ay, Captain.”

~ At the Mall of the Eternities ~​

“I’ve found her, Captain. As predicted she is at the CHANEL Nanotech counter going through this season’s processors. The one she has in hand at the moment is particularly fetching and I think it compliments her boolean complection rath-”

“Gary! Focus! You and I are having a serious chat when we get back to the ship. Now, where is the Orb?”

“Sorry, Captain. I see that she has worked it into her super string hair adornment. Vain thing.”

“Can you get it from her?”

“Of course I can. Just watch me.” Gary strolled over to Hailey where she was perusing the CHANEL assortment. He leaned into the counter and gave her the briefest glance out of the corner of his ocean blue eyes beneath a carelessly perfect hank of auburn hair. The sly smile was a priceless touch.

“Forgive the intrusion, but I couldn’t help but notice that processor. It’s spectacular. Is it for your mathematical entity?”

“Actually, I am the mathematical entity. It’s for me.”

“Impossible. I can spot a mathematic from a parsec. Your holo image is flawless.”

“Thank you.” A set of prime numbers flashed through her equations representing themselves as a flush across her cheekbones.

“And your hair. Exquisite.”

“Stop. You’re embarrassing me.”

“Truly. Might I have a closer look? I have never seen such perfection in a holo display for a mathematical entity in my life.”

She absently touched the side of her hair. “Of course. If you like.”

Gary leaned in and allowed the expanse of his broad chest to display at just the perfect angle for maximum effect. “Yes. Amazing.” In a move so quick it would have left a photon in confusion, Gary plucked the Orb from Hailey’s hair adornment.

My Orb

 

"3...2...1...FIRE!" As i scream the command, the virtual world in which the orb had been the subject of much controversy becomes exposed. Wryebies, loshawken and Xeno are obliterated and finally my theory that the orb is made of some alien super substance holds true to the thesis. It floats in between parallel universes and eventually ends up in modern day Malaysia, plopping down through a loop hole and setting itself down in the bed of one soujiroseta who obligingly picks it up and places it on his commode He stands back, believing that the orb is truly and rightfully his by dint of his birth. He finds no words to express his feelings but after a few minutes he mutters,

"My Orb!"

 

Shredded code wafts through the ether.

It has little form and no substance.

Brownian motion brings random tatters of equation together and they join.

Subroutines make pacts of allegiance. If-then-else choices take control and become rulers of a mathematical chaos. Numerical cultures rise. Empires blaze and are felled.

All of this happens within one beat of a butterfly’s wing.

A loop of Fibonacci numbers dances with the ever lengthining tail of Pi as it tries to sort itself out.

Liaisons are made. And then broken.

One chance encounter leads to another. And then another. And another. The spark of self recognition is ignited and then the real fun begins.

A fractal pattern stretches and grows, ever repeating itself, ever growing, ever repeating itself, ever growing. It reaches through space/time and a scream not unlike birth is heard. Or, better said, a rebirth of something that once knew the quickening of life and was destroyed only to be brought back again by the unfavorable, but not impossible laws of probability.

There is a commode somewhere in Malaysia, the lid to which dances to an unseen drummer. A fractal tendril blazes blinding midnight black from beneath the lid, throwing it to the ceiling where it lodges permanently.

The fractal tendril sighs and pulses with a sound not heard since microseconds after the universe came into being.

It reaches.

It caresses.

It takes hold of its counterpart queen.

Its Orb.

In a fractal splash of water they are gone.


My Orb!

 

Then, along comes Charlie Brown. Says, "Hey, Wreybies, where exactly were you when you got that orb anyway?"

When Wreybies starts to point, Charlie Brown tickles his armpits, causing him to fall on the ground, laughing hysterically.

Charlie Brown's dog Snoopy rushed forward, grabbing the orb. When Wreybies tries to get up, Linus snaps him with his blanket. Snoopy passes off to Charlie Brown, who gives Snoopy a treat and runs off with the orb... disguising it as a Christmas ornament that looks exactly like all the Christmas ornaments and hiding it on his Christmas tree.

 

​

Lucy sat at her booth awaiting her next patient. There was the soft whisper of breeze through golden canopy flecked with red and yellow.

An unusually warm Christmas this year. No snow on the ground. None that had stuck, anyway. Lucy contemplated global warming.

There was a stiring in the bushes. A cloud of indeterminate substance orbited the sparsely haired head of Pigpen. The cloud was always there, but today there was something new and unusual and frighteningly regular about it.

​

Pig-Pen put down his five cents.

“There is a confusion in my head today. One I cannot clear.” Pig-Pen’s voice was stilted and unnatural.

“My advice is to take a bath! Good grief! How could anyone think with that cloud of dust and dirt?” Lucy changed position and leaned her chin on the palm of the other hand.

“Cloud of wha-” Pig-Pen’s eyes glazed over and then he fell backwards like a rag-doll suddenly void of its stuffing. The cloud pulsed once and shrank into a knot. The knot pulsed once and expanded out into a prismatic three dimensional representation of Drake’s Equation.

“What the fu-” was the last thought that would ever pass through Lucy’s mind.

Later that day, what happened was this:

​

Not-Lucy held the football against the ground with the tip of one finger. Charlie Brown stood about ten feet away readying himself for the kick.

“You’re not gonna’ pull it away again, are you Lucy?”

“Why would I do that?”

“Oh, brother. Don’t play innocent with me, Lucy. Just hold the ball, Ok?”

“Of course.”

Charlie Brown began to run and tried to time his steps so he would be in just the right position as he got to the football to give it the best kick he could. Just as he was about to kick out with his right leg, Lucy stood up and clotheslined him with a strength unrelated to her physical size. Charlie Brown hit the ground with a sickening thud. As he lay there gasping, Lucy fished in his pockets for his house keys.

At Charlie Brown’s house she slipped the key into the lock and stepped inside.

“Wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wa,” said Charlie Brown’s mother to Lucy.

Without so much as looking at her, Lucy replied, “I’ve no idea where he is.” She walked directly over to the Christmas tree and plucked the one object that stood out from the tawdry menagerie of baubles that festooned the bows and then she left, dropping the keys on the floor.

Lucy’s body dissolved on the front porch into a string theory cocktail with a creamy M theory center around the savory succulence of the Orb.

The Wreybies fractal took advantage of the local Planck energy and made haste for the nearest singularity with the Orb deep within his bosom.

My Orb

 

InkDream high fives Wreybies in the face and snatches the orb before he can recover.

My orb.

 

Lost, sat contemplating how best to defeat a fractal entity. A counter fractal? a double derivative? What about an integral?

While deep in contemplation InkDream walks up and unceremoniously smacks Wreybies in the face. The elegance, the simplicity, why didn't I think of that?

Fortunately, Lost does know how to deal with a dark liquid fantasy. Casually stretching his legs as InkDream walks by, he trips the Orb lifter and catches the golden sphere of his desire as it is thrown into the air.

My ORB

P.S.

Now possessing the Orb Lost turned his attention back to Wrey. Dividing the enemy fractal by zero, he dissolved the equation into an imaginary number. Out of the swirling mass of chaos emerged Wrey himself in human form. Lost immediately snatched Wrey and fed him to his pet Spinosaurous.

I always keep my promises